Nest Feathers and Twine - Formally Artist's Block Studio

The things that make a house a home and the stuff that holds is all together.

Years ago I started this blog with a mindset and goals that I have found have changed direction over time. I am excited to say that this blog has a new name.....Nest Feathers and Twine. I hope you come by and visit often. Feel free to get comfortable and kick off your shoes and join me on this journey of metamorphosis.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

just one thing

it is my wish that each and every one of you can find 1 thing to be grateful for on this day of Thanksgiving.

my biggest wish is that you have pages and pages and pages of things to be grateful for.

years ago i began a journey.

mine was a journey of self discovery in the deepest, most sincerest form.

a journey of transformation.

a journey of enlightment.

a journey of love. not just for all others, but for myself as well.

a journey of acceptance.

a journey of forgiveness.

i am still on the journey, and always will be, no matter where my soul lives.

i learned on this journey that gratitude is so very important.

the days when you are tired, weak, frustrated........gratitude for what is now at this very moment takes all of the discomforts away. if you are in alot of pain, mix half gratitude with half a vicodin. seems to work for me.

when you are stuck in traffic because there has been an accident....thank you God that I am not the one involved in the accident that has caused this back up.

when you have a messy house to clearn....thank you God i have a home to clean.

when your kids are driving you crazy.....thank you God for my children.

i have had a couple of events in the last couple of decades that i can truly truly say were bad days.

we seem to throw those words around to casually.

i am having a bad day because.....

i broke a nail, i did not have time to stop for my latte, i had to drive an ugly rental car while mine is being repaired, it figures i was the repairmans last appointment, i wanted to eat at that restaurant not this one....

it drives me crazy, but i have to admit there was a day many many many years ago when a broken nail so totally ruined my day.

now, when i hear others complain over the minor details, i am grateful that i have come so far in my journey and that i can see a bit of my former self in them and have a bit of peace knowing they just have not quite made it the same place yet in their journey.

having a bad hair day....thank God i have hair.

every day

throughout the day

i give thanks

thank you God for the dishwasher.

there were a couple of years i had to wash them by hand, for a family of 5.

thank you God i have dishes to wash in the dishwasher because that means we have food to eat.

thank you God for our hot water.

last year our hot water heater pooped out. for 3 months we took ice cold showers, unable to afford a new one, and while dealing with a call center, long story short i started making calls here in America and found there was a recall and we were given a brand new water heater.

thank you God my kids do not do drugs.

after being without air conditioning for 2 years, we finally scraped the money together this year to get it fixed. almost 700.00 to do work on an air conditioner that was only 5 years old. most of that bill was to refill the freon. no leaks. a drug addict most likely stole our freon, inhaling it.

thank you God for our groceries, toilet paper.....

there have in the not so distant past been some really tough times...no, i mean realllllly tough.

thank you God for my collection of antique wooden chairs....

my beloved 90 year old couch bit the dust this spring. thank God that i have quite a few old chairs that no one else wanted that i fixed up that can fill the void until we can afford a new couch. we look like we are holding 12 step program meetings in our living room, but there is a place to sit if need be.

the gratitude does not have to be for just the big schtuff. for the out of the ordinary stuff.

i am hearing impaired, the weather permitted us having the windows wide open earlier this week and i woke up being serenaded by song birds. thank you God that i still have enough hearing to hear the birds.

there are still a few roses blooming. i can see them, feel the soft petals and the ouchy thorns.

the unbelievably beautiful sunsets night after night that i can see, and photograph.

i am breathing.

i can read this.

i can taste the meal i am eating.

i can smell the rose blooming, and when wanting to curse the cat for stinking up the house after using the litterbox....thank you God i can smell.

i am exhausted from doing all of this cooking and cleaning for Thanksgiving......thank you God that i am healthy enough to cook and clean.

i don't know why i stopped to do this blog post. i am tired. my vertigo flared up from all of the movement cooking and preparing a tasty Thanksgiving meal for our small, but mighty, family of 5. Thank you God for each and every one of us in this family, that even with the vertigo i kept on cooking and preparing.

i was so heading off to bed to get some sleep, thinking about doing a blog post friday. i still have so many photos to show and stories to tell....something made me stop. something made me want to wish you all the most wonderful and happiest of Thanksgivings, and to wish for all of you that you have at least one thing you are grateful for, but most of all that you have pages and pages and pages of things to be grateful for.

maybe there is a wonderful reason i was so inspired on my way to bed to write this post.

whatever that reason, i am so grateful.

i cross my fingers um, i mean my heart....told you i was tired..... i will try to do some show and tell friday, i am looking so forward to sharing some wonderful photos with you, and i thank God that the virus my computer got last month did not eat up any of my photos.

Quote for the moment

FEEDJIT Live Traffic Feed

I am so excited to see what the new year has in store for us! I know it will be full of wonderful surprises. My daughter Steph and I are busy working to open 4 new Etsy shops. Check back often for updates and links.

Cure for Artist's Block

Play.......Play every day.......creative ideas are all connected......once you put action behind your ideas they begin to multiply like bunnies.....one idea, a bit of inspiration, leads to the next, then the next.....before you know it you will find yourself always with pen and paper in reach to keep track of your ideas....

Give thanks, and give it often, for the inspiration, creativity,the talents and gifts you have been given .....whether it be to God, the universe, or whatever name you give it.....give thanks.

Come follow me and see where the journey takes us

T'Ao 22 as taken from the True Colors book

the woman of t'ao------------------holds oneness in her heart, ------and her world is at peace.------------does not try to please, -------------and therefore shines. ---------------does not seek attention,--------------and therefore excels. ------------does not justify herself, -------------and is therefore trusted. -----------does not imitate others, ---------and is therefore herself. -----------does not compete, ----------------and therefore-------------------------no one in the worldcan surpass her.

Bits and pieces of me

I am the mom of 3, wife of 1, keeper of the dust bunnies and I am a self taught multi media artist. Everyday images in my life inspire the art I create, which include art jewelry, collage art, decorative paint, altered books, atc's, 4x4's, art dolls, the list goes on and on.

I love getting my hands messy and working with polymer clay, paint, dying papers, fabric and fibers. Beads are a constant source of inspiration, and just holding a few can inspire the creation of wearable art. I suffer from a terminal case of 'junk gene syndrome' and Ilove going for walks, estate and garage sale-ing and adoptingthose bits and pieces that no one else has even seemed to notice or wants, or those things that have been thoughtlessly discarded. I have on several occasions yelled 'stop!" while my very supportive and very patient husband has been driving down the road to dumpster dive and retrieve a treasure that was thrown out with yesterday's news. Found objects, anything vintage and time worn, or just down right old are works of art in themselves, adding these bits and pieces of history just make a piece of art that much more meaningful.

I am a hands on visual girl, I am happiest and at my best when I am learning by doing. I am always looking to work with new materials, ideas, and to learn new techniques.

My hearing impairment has been a blessing and a wonderful gift. I am able to hear enough, but the limitations on the volume anbd ability to understand words made me a keen and enthusiastic oberserver.

I hope you check back often to see what is going on in myh studio and life. Feel free to leave a comment, I would love to know that you were here!

Who and Why I am Who I am

This is where I am suppose to tell you about me. I am almost 40 and I am just figuring that out for myself! I have spent most of my life trying to exist in the mold carved for me. I never was comfortable in that mold, it was never a good fit. I am finally brave enough to break out of that mold and expose who I really am to the world. I am finally feeling comfortable in my own skin. I use to sit quietly in the background, hoping to just blend in. I have recently found out how much fun it is to join in! I learn more about me everyday through the process of creating art. Art is a wonderful thing. There are no rules! No right No wrong. It is the way it is because you made it that way. Now that I have given myself permission to think outside the box I am never crawling back in! I will never color in the lines again, unless I want to! I owe a big part of this to my wonderful, loving and supportive husband who through the years has given me encouragement, pushed me when I want to give up, and has believed in me from the start! Without him I would not have achieved so much.